


Protective Instinct

by wanderingjedihistorian (RangerJedi67)



Series: Commander Cody Week [3]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Cody, Battle Injuries, Canon Level Depictions of Violence, Cody is pining, Cody uses Obi-Wan's lightsaber, Codyweek2021, M/M, Obi-Wan adores Cody, Obi-Wan's lightsber likes Cody, Protective CC-2224 | Cody, They need to use their words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 06:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30068124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RangerJedi67/pseuds/wanderingjedihistorian
Summary: A lightsaber was a Jedi weapon. A clone couldn’t possibly wield one.Another shot, this one coming within inches of hitting one of the already injured men.Cody jerked to his feet, lightsaber in hand. He had no other choice. He yanked off his damaged helmet, realizing it would only hinder him.
Relationships: Pre-Cody/Obi-Wan
Series: Commander Cody Week [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2208669
Comments: 14
Kudos: 202





	Protective Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> Commander Cody Week continues!
> 
> Day #3: Valor
> 
> Many thanks to Shira for betaing!

CWCWCW

Cody had lost his weapon in the blast and his helmet had gotten cracked too. Behind him, a group of injured troopers was exposed and vulnerable near the entrance of the cavern they had been investigating when the attack started. Droids were closing in. He rapidly looked around, desperate to find a functioning weapon to protect his wounded men for as long as he could. His eyes caught on a glint on the ground. Moving quickly, he closed the distance to the weapon and crouched to grab hold of it. He sucked in a breath when he realized it was his general’s lightsaber. Across the battlefield he could see his general, so the man was at least alive. He’d simply _dropped his weapon_ once again. Obi-Wan... _the General_ ...have to keep it professional, can’t let those inappropriate feelings surface too far... _the General_...really needed to keep a better hold of his weapon. Cody dropped to pick it up and went to secure it to his belt, intending to find a blaster. A shot just barely missed his head, making him reconsider.

A lightsaber was a _Jedi_ weapon. A clone couldn’t possibly wield one.

Or could he? His Jedi trusted him to find and return the weapon. Would he forgive its use? His General spoke of the weapon being able to sense who held it and their intentions. Had idly mentioned a few times that the saber _liked_ Cody. Did that mean it would let him use it? Would it help him?

Another shot, this one coming within inches of hitting one of the already injured men.

Cody jerked to his feet, lightsaber in hand. He had no other choice. He yanked off his damaged helmet, realizing it would only hinder him.

_Please,_ he begged of the weapon in his hand. _Please let me protect my injured brothers, just until help comes. Please._

The blade came to life as he hit the switch. Cody wasn’t Force sensitive. He was _certain_ of that. But he would swear on anything and everything he felt a connection to the blade just then. 

He wasn’t trained in the use of a weapon like this, but he had training on a vast range of weapons. He was an ARC trained Marshal Commander. He could, _would_ do this. He would protect his men or die trying. If it was to be the latter…he couldn’t think of a more fitting fate.

The saber seemed to tug at his awareness. He let it guide him. Bolt after bolt he deflected away from his men, occasionally managing to deflect them _back_ at the droids. A few of the injured men had roused enough to get their hands on blasters and had started to shoot at the droids, aiding their commander. 

Cody could feel the strain as he fought. He was a soldier engineered for peak performance, but being injured and wielding an unfamiliar weapon were disadvantages all the same. His armor was also less than ideal for use with a lightsaber. He was starting to understand why the general resisted wearing armor. It _was_ interfering with his movements.

One of the droids got too close and he just _acted_. He threw himself forward, slashing with the saber as he did. The droid fell, the upper torso separating from the rest of the body. A part of him thought the droid looked _surprised_ at its fate. This, he thought, was more his style. He threw himself at the droids as they drew closer, slashing and stabbing as he did. It became clear that the droids were _confused_ by his actions; apparently their programming didn’t cover a clone wielding a lightsaber. Only fair, neither did _his._

He could hear the cursing from his men behind him. His proximity to the droids was impacting the troopers’ abilities to shoot at them. But there was no way in the nine Corellian hells he was going to intentionally let the droids closer to the injured men. Not as long as he had a choice.

“Keep firing,” he shouted. “That’s an order.” 

“But Commander!” one of the men protested.

Over the noise of battle, it was hard to tell who had spoken.

“You heard me, trooper!” he snapped back, not wanting to call the wrong name. 

He would focus down the center of the droid line, leaving his men plenty of options on either side.

Eliminating the threat was the key now. 

Another droid fell to the blade. 

And another.

And another. 

His arms were starting to shake, his own injuries making themselves more known, but he pushed on. He had to. His men, his injured men, depended on him. 

Another droid fell. 

A shot grazed his thigh, but the armor took it. Plastoid wasn’t perfect but it handled glancing shots well enough. It was better than no protection at all.

A droid just out of his range dropped. Behind it he could see Ghost company troopers surging towards him.

He fell back, closer to the injured now that backup had arrived. He trusted his men to take care of the droids as they advanced. 

Finally, the last droid fell.

It took all his remaining strength to keep his feet as he deactivated the lightsaber. The injuries he had been ignoring now _screamed_ for attention. His medic was going to have a few things to say, he was sure.

Suddenly, a strong arm was wrapped around his waist. 

“I’ve got you, Commander,” the Jedi’s voice said gently. “The men are safe now.” 

Cody let himself lean into his general’s hold just a little as he started to talk. 

“General, I…I’m sorry, sir. I know it was highly inappropriate and I’ll accept…”

He wasn’t sorry that he protected his… _their_ men. But he wasn’t sure if him using the lightsaber was somehow offensive to the Jedi Order, and if it was, he did want to offer an apology for the offense. He’d do it again, but he wanted it to be clear he did it only as a last resort.

“Shhh. It’s alright, Cody. It’s alright. I’m _glad_ you did it. You protected our men well. You wielded my lightsaber as if you had been doing it for years,” the Jedi assured quickly, cutting off his apologies.

“My arms disagree,” he admitted with a huffed out laugh. 

The General grinned. “Yes, I’m sure they do. We’ll have to work on that.” 

“Sir?” Cody asked, confused. 

“If you ever find yourself in that sort of situation again, I want you even better prepared to deal with it,” the Jedi said. “Just some basic training exercise to help you familiarize yourself with a lightsaber better.” 

“General, I couldn’t….” 

“You can, Cody. I told you. My lightsaber likes you. It is _pleased_ you chose to wield it so protectively. It would have mourned being left unused while men died that it could have protected. It won’t mind you training with it a bit so that if this happens again you can do even better.” 

Cody was floored. 

“Yes, General.” He started. Paused, frowned as he felt his pain ease. “Sir, should you be doing that?” 

“Hush. I’m just making it easier for you to get to medical treatment. I’m being considerate.” 

“And not at all looking for ways to distract attention from yourself?” Cody challenged, eyebrow raised. 

“Of course not, Commander, why ever would you ask such a question?” 

“My mistake, General.” 

“Forgiven, my dear Commander,” the Jedi teased.

Cody smiled as he leaned into his General even more.

The stars shown overhead and quiet slowly descended.

Their men were safe.

He wondered if it was possible to _thank_ the General’s lightsaber…

CWCWCW

**Author's Note:**

> Lovely art for this fic by [Awkwardproducktions](https://awkwardproducktions.tumblr.com)!


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